News and information about transportation, including roads, transit, hiker-biker trails and pedestrian safety.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Eyes Campaign and Shop With a Cop Promote Safety for Pedestrians, Drivers and Shoppers

The County has launched two public education campaigns to
improve public safety that encourage residents to look out for each other during
the busy holiday shopping season. A new Montgomery
County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) pedestrian safety campaign features
bus posters showing the eyes of two County students and the slogan, “Hey You,
I’m Looking at You.” The campaign focuses
on the most important factors in reducing crashes: visibility of pedestrians
and vigilance by drivers. CountyPolice also announced their “Shop
with a Cop” campaign. Police officers
will patrol retail areas to provide extra security and remind shoppers to drive
and walk safe -- especially in parking lots.

The “Eyes” campaign was developed by a group of BlairHigh School students and involved a
contest conducted among students to have their eyes featured in the campaign
materials. The winning eyes remind
pedestrians to establish eye contact with drivers, be visible and look both
ways before crossing the street. They
also prompt drivers to look out for pedestrians.

For more details about the programs and a list of
pedestrian, driver and shopper safety tips, see the press
release. For more information about pedestrian safety, go to the County’s
website.